CHAPTER 13
The sound of frogs, crickets, and the fire popping soothes my nerves as the five of us huddle around our campfire.
“Are we going to go to the bonfire?” Willow asks as she tosses her paper plate into the fire from her tacos. “I really want to get some good pictures for work. My boss asked me to document all the spooky tales.”
She is way into this ghost-hunting thing. Her boss has her blogging and doing social media for her internship. Beats me why she loves it so much, but she does, and it totally fits her vibe: mysterious and spunky.
“We really should at least check it out before it gets too rowdy and all the drunks come out.” Annie says in her sweet tone, as if she can’t bear to be around anyone who has consumed a little too much alcohol.
She darts into her tent and quickly returns with a red flannel and her cowboy boots, still wearing those tight-ass shorts. If she’s going, I’m going because no way, am I letting her go looking like that without some backup.
“Just let me change,” I say, putting my water bottle down on the chair I was sitting in.
“We all can go for a little bit, then come back here to make s’mores, and do our own little fireworks.
” Shay says as she holds up a white plastic bag, no doubt holding her illegal fireworks.
I’m not surprised one bit that she found a way to get them, and that she’s had them here the whole time without telling anyone.
“I had to make our last trip memorable somehow. This seems like a good start.”
We arrive at the bonfire a little too early. Hardly anyone is here yet. The five of us sit down in the grass on top of two of our blankets.
“This is boring,” Dove complains as she pulls out her phone.
I chuckle at Annie, who rolls her eyes and sits down beside me. I have to physically stop myself from kissing her, as she stares at me like I’m the only one around her. The wind picks up slightly, tossing her long brown hair into my face, making me get a strong whiff of her fruity perfume.
A shadow flashes in my peripheral vision to the right, making me squint and stare off into the darkness.
I could’ve sworn I just saw someone run from behind one tree to the next, then nothing.
The fire is casting an orange glow. Maybe it's causing me to see things or make up figures, due to the wind and light.
But then it happens again, a black shadow of a tall figure sprints from behind said tree to the next, drawing closer to us.
“What are you looking at?” Annie asks as she tracks my eye movement.
I don’t know if I should tell her. I’m probably being dramatic.
“Nothing, it was just the wind.”
“You’ve been super jumpy since we got here,” Shay says, giving her two cents we really didn’t need.
I debate whether it’s time I tell them my theories and worries, or if I should just keep it to myself because she’s right. It could be paranoia because we’re in a strange place so far from home, and with a bunch of strangers.
“Sorry, I’m just not used to being this far away from home,” I say, giving them a half-truth.
“Don’t worry, just relax. Nothing bad is going to happen,” Willow says in her super optimistic tone.
I envy how carefree she can be—never too stressed about anything, even on days when the world feels like it’s falling apart.
“This is going to be the best week of our lives, I can tell. Just trust me.” She flashes a pearly white smile, then starts braiding her hair.
I swear she believes in all that spooky stuff like crystals, tarot reading, and the craziest of all, spirits.
My eyes flash back to the row of trees off in the distance, but nothing moves. No shadows with broad shoulders. More now than ever, I think my suspicions of being watched are valid.
The question is, who is it?